IELTS Speaking Part 1: Home and Accommodation Questions and Answers
Home and accommodation are familiar Part 1 themes. Use this evergreen guide to practise describing the type of home you live in, the surrounding area, what you like, what you would change and where you may live in the future.
Home and accommodation Part 1 questions
Move one question at a time: listen, answer, compare and retry. The complete question text remains in the page HTML for accessibility and search.
- 01Do you live in a house or an apartment?
- 02Can you describe the place where you live?
- 03How long have you lived there?
- 04What do you like most about your home?
- 05What is the area or neighbourhood like?
- 06Is there anything you would like to change about your home or area?
- 07Do you plan to continue living there in the future?
- 08What kind of home would you like to live in one day?
Practice status: Evergreen Part 1 guide. Home is named as a familiar Speaking Part 1 theme in official IELTS preparation material; the model answers and teaching notes on this page are independent IELTSpeaking examples, not official test answers. See the official format sources.
Model answers, heard side by side
Start with the simpler answer, switch bands to hear how the same task can be developed, then record a personal response. These are teaching examples, not official answers or score guarantees.
Do you live in a house or an apartment?
I live in a two-bedroom apartment with my parents. It is on the sixth floor of a fairly new building, about twenty minutes from the city centre. It is not very large, but it has enough space for the three of us.
I live with my parents in a two-bedroom apartment on the sixth floor of a modern residential block. It is in a well-connected suburb, so the city centre is roughly twenty minutes away by metro. The flat is fairly compact, but the layout makes good use of the available space.
Can you describe the place where you live?
My apartment has a living room, a small kitchen, two bedrooms and one bathroom. It is quite bright because the main windows face south. The furniture is simple, and we have a small balcony with a few plants.
It is a bright, practical apartment with an open-plan living area, two modest bedrooms and a narrow balcony overlooking a row of trees. We have kept the furniture quite minimal, which stops the rooms from feeling crowded. My favourite feature is the natural light we get in the afternoon.
How long have you lived there?
I have lived there for about five years. My family moved in when I started university because our old home was too far from campus. I am used to the area now, and most of the places I need are nearby.
I have been living there for just over five years. We moved when I began university, mainly to shorten my commute and be closer to public transport. At first the neighbourhood felt unfamiliar, but it gradually became home as I discovered the local shops and got to know a few neighbours.
What do you like most about your home?
The best thing is the location. There is a metro station near my building, as well as a supermarket and a park. It is easy to get to work, and I can go for a walk without travelling far.
What I value most is the combination of convenience and quiet. The metro, grocery shops and a public park are all within walking distance, yet our building is set back from the main road. That means my commute is straightforward without having to put up with much traffic noise at home.
What is the area or neighbourhood like?
It is a quiet residential area with a mix of families and older people. There are several small shops, cafés and a primary school. It can get busy in the morning, but in the evening it is usually peaceful.
It is a fairly settled residential neighbourhood with tree-lined streets and a mixture of apartment blocks and older houses. Most daily essentials are available locally, and there is a friendly community feel because people recognise one another. The only busy period is the morning school run.
Is there anything you would like to change about your home or area?
I would like a larger kitchen because two people cannot cook comfortably at the same time. In the area, I think there should be more bicycle parking. Apart from those things, I am happy living there.
If I could change one thing inside the flat, I would make the kitchen slightly more spacious, as it becomes cramped whenever two of us cook together. As for the neighbourhood, secure bicycle storage would be useful. They are small improvements, though, rather than reasons to move.
Do you plan to continue living there in the future?
I will probably stay there for another year or two because it is affordable and convenient for work. Later, I may move closer to the city centre if I find a better job, but I have not made a firm plan yet.
For the next couple of years, I expect to stay because the rent is manageable and the location suits my current job. In the longer term, I would consider moving somewhere more central, particularly if my work situation changes. At the moment, though, there is no urgent reason to leave.
What kind of home would you like to live in one day?
I would like to live in a medium-sized house near a park. I do not need a huge home, but I would like a garden and a quiet room where I could work. Good public transport would also be important.
My ideal home would be a modest, energy-efficient house on the edge of a city. I would want a small garden, a dedicated workspace and plenty of daylight rather than lots of extra rooms. The main priority would be finding a peaceful street that still has reliable public transport nearby.
How to answer questions about where you live
Lead with the exact information requested, then make the answer personal with one concrete detail. For example, identify the type of home before describing its location; give the length of time before explaining why you moved; or name one feature before explaining why it matters to you.
- Answer: state the home, feature, preference or plan directly.
- Locate: add a useful detail about size, layout, area, transport or time.
- Explain: give one reason, effect, contrast or short personal example.
- Stop naturally: do not turn a familiar Part 1 question into a prepared speech.
Useful home and accommodation vocabulary
Learn these items as complete word partnerships. Replace the example detail with information about your own home before recording an answer.
| Word or phrase | Meaning | Natural collocation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| accommodation | the place where someone lives or stays | student accommodation / rented accommodation | I currently live in rented accommodation near my workplace. |
| residential area | an area used mainly for homes rather than offices or factories | a quiet residential area | My flat is in a quiet residential area outside the centre. |
| well-connected | easy to reach by public transport or roads | a well-connected neighbourhood | The neighbourhood is well-connected, so I rarely need a car. |
| within walking distance | close enough to reach comfortably on foot | within walking distance of the station | Most of the shops I use are within walking distance. |
| spacious | having plenty of room | a spacious living room | The living room is spacious enough for the whole family. |
| compact | small but arranged efficiently | a compact apartment | It is a compact apartment, but the layout is practical. |
| cramped | uncomfortably small or crowded | a cramped kitchen | The kitchen feels cramped when more than one person is cooking. |
| open-plan | designed without many internal walls | an open-plan kitchen and living area | We have an open-plan kitchen and living area. |
| natural light | daylight that enters through windows | get plenty of natural light | The room gets plenty of natural light in the afternoon. |
| overlook | to have a view of something from above or nearby | overlook a park / courtyard | Our balcony overlooks a small communal garden. |
| amenities | useful local facilities and services | local amenities | The area has useful local amenities, including a clinic and a library. |
| commute | the regular journey between home and work or study | a short commute / shorten my commute | Moving closer to the metro shortened my daily commute. |
| neighbourhood | the local area around a person's home | a friendly neighbourhood | It is a friendly neighbourhood where people greet each other. |
| set back from | positioned some distance away from a road or boundary | set back from the main road | The building is set back from the main road, so it is fairly quiet. |
| move in / move out | start or stop living in a home | move into a new flat / move out next year | We moved into this apartment five years ago. |
| make good use of space | arrange limited space effectively | a layout that makes good use of space | The built-in storage makes good use of the available space. |
Common mistakes
- Listing rooms and furniture without answering the question first.
- Calling every small home “cramped”; compact can be positive when the space is arranged efficiently.
- Memorising a luxury dream-home description that does not sound personally plausible.
- Forcing several idioms into a short answer instead of using precise everyday vocabulary.
- Confusing your current home, hometown and neighbourhood when the examiner asks about only one of them.
Home and accommodation FAQ
How long should a Home and Accommodation Part 1 answer be?
Give a direct answer and develop it with one reason, detail or example. Two to four natural sentences are often enough, but there is no required sentence or word count.
Should I say flat or apartment in IELTS Speaking?
Both are correct. Flat is especially common in British English, while apartment is common in several varieties of English. Use the word that feels natural to you and stay consistent.
Do I need to memorise advanced vocabulary about homes?
No. Learn accurate words and natural collocations that fit your real home. A precise phrase such as within walking distance is more useful than a rare word used incorrectly.
What if I do not like the place where I live?
Say so naturally and explain one specific reason, then mention a positive point or a change you would make. IELTS assesses your language, not whether your opinion is positive.
Official format sources
These sources establish that home and accommodation are familiar IELTS Speaking Part 1 themes and provide official format practice. IELTSpeaking wrote the model answers and teaching explanations on this page independently.